Google raises reward after researchers fail to hack Chrome OS

Google regularly pays people for reporting security flaws in its software through a Reward Program that dates back to 2010. However, it looks like researchers are having some trouble hacking the current version of Chrome OS.

The company announced this week that it’s doubling the reward money from $50,000 to $100,000 after receiving zero successful submissions. The goal is to crack guest mode on Chromebooks. However, Google is also expanding the challenge to include methods for bypassing the operating system’s download protection feature in Safe Browsing.

It’s unclear if this means Chrome OS is particularly safe from hackers, or if Google simply isn’t receiving that many submissions. The new reward money should encourage more researchers to root out any remaining security flaws in the operating system, and that’s a good thing for anyone who uses a Chromebook on a regular basis.